Captain David McCampbell was a United States Navy captain, naval aviator, and a Medal of Honor recipient.
20 Facts About David McCampbell
2.
David McCampbell retired from the navy in 1964 with 31 years of service.
3.
David McCampbell was the third-highest American scoring ace of World War II and the highest-scoring American ace to survive the war.
4.
David McCampbell set a United States single mission aerial combat record of shooting down nine enemy planes in one mission, on October 24,1944, at the beginning of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, in the Philippines.
5.
David McCampbell was born in Bessemer, Alabama, and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida.
6.
David McCampbell attended the Staunton Military Academy, in Virginia, and one year at the Georgia School of Technology, in Atlanta, before his appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1929, where he graduated with the class of 1933 with a degree in marine engineering.
7.
David McCampbell went on active duty on June 14,1934, and served aboard the heavy cruiser USS Portland from June 1934 to June 1937 before he started flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
8.
David McCampbell returned to the United States, was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and was stationed at Naval Air Station Melbourne, Florida as LSO Instructor until August 1943.
9.
David McCampbell formed Fighter Squadron 15 on September 1,1943 and led the squadron before being reassigned as Commander of Air Group 15 in February 1944 to September 1944.
10.
On June 19,1944, during the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," Commander David McCampbell shot down five Japanese Yokosuka D4Y 'Judy' dive-bombers, to become an "ace in a day".
11.
Later that afternoon, during a second sortie, David McCampbell downed two Mitsubishi A6M 'Zekes' over Guam.
12.
Commander David McCampbell received the Medal of Honor for both actions, becoming the only Fast Carrier Task Force aviator to be so honored.
13.
David McCampbell returned to the United States in March 1945 and served as Chief of Staff to the Commander Fleet Air at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, until January 1947.
14.
David McCampbell then attended Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, and remained as an instructor after graduating.
15.
David McCampbell was promoted to captain in July 1952; he was assigned as the Planning Officer on the Staff of Commander Aircraft Atlantic from March 1952 to July 1953.
16.
David McCampbell served as the Commanding Officer, Naval Air Technical Training Center Jacksonville at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, from July 1953 to July 1954.
17.
David McCampbell was then assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon from 1960 to September 1962.
18.
David McCampbell died in Florida in 1996 and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
19.
The President of the United States take pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Commander David McCampbell, United States Navy for service as set forth in the following.
20.
An inspiring leader, fighting boldly in the face of terrific odds, Commander David McCampbell led his fighter planes against a force of eighty Japanese carrier-based aircraft bearing down on our Fleet on June 19,1944.